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Victoria Hunt is an American politician, data scientist, and urban planner who is the member-elect of the Washington House of Representatives representing the state's 5th district, Position 1. A member of the Democratic Party, Hunt will take office on January 13, 2025, succeeding Bill Ramos.[1]
Victoria Hunt | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 5th (Position 1) district | |
| Preceded by | Bill Ramos |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Victoria Hunt |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Cornell University (BS, 2007) University of Illinois (PhD, 2015) in Computational Ecology |
| Occupation | Data scientist, urban planner, local politician |
Early life and education
Hunt earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University in 2007 and a Ph.D. in Computational Ecology from the University of Illinois in 2015.[1]
Career
Hunt has worked as the Chief Data Officer at Crosswalk Labs and as a faculty member at the University of Washington's Urban Design and Planning Department. She also worked as a data scientist at Breakthrough Energy, Bill Gates' climate research firm, where she focused on electricity grid issues and modeling of the U.S. electric grid.[2][3]
Hunt has served three terms as a member of the Issaquah City Council, where she advocated for increased density and affordable housing. She previously served on Issaquah's Planning Policy Commission.[3] During her tenure as City Council President in 2020 and 2021, she helped establish a partnership with a local motel to provide temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness, which has helped approximately 40 individuals transition to permanent housing.[3]
Washington House of Representatives
Summarize
Perspective
2024 election
Hunt won election to the Washington House of Representatives in 2024, succeeding Democrat Bill Ramos who ran for the Washington State Senate. In the August 6 primary election, Hunt received 35.1% of the vote in a field of five candidates. She went on to win the general election on November 5, defeating Republican Mark Hargrove with 54% of the vote to Hargrove's 45.9%.[1]
During the 2024 campaign, Hunt received editorial endorsements from several publications including The Seattle Times and The Stranger.[2][4][5]
Political positions
Environment and climate
Hunt supports environmental legislation and opposes efforts to repeal Washington's Climate Commitment Act, which established cap-and-trade in the state. She advocates for policies to reduce carbon pollution while ensuring grid reliability during decarbonization efforts. Drawing from her scientific background and experience at Breakthrough Energy, she emphasizes the importance of building out infrastructure to support the transition to cleaner energy sources. She has also supported legislation to require fossil fuel companies to disclose their financial records regarding consumer costs and profits.[2][3][5]
Housing and homelessness
Hunt supports increased density and affordable housing initiatives while maintaining local control over zoning and regulatory policy. She has expressed support for the state's Missing Middle Housing bill, rent stabilization measures, and advocates for expanding the state's Housing Trust Fund. She has argued that zoning changes alone are insufficient to address affordable housing needs and supports larger investments in the Housing Trust Fund to subsidize affordable units. She has also shown interest in exploring housing land trusts as a potential solution to housing challenges.[2][3][4]
Public safety
As a city councilmember, Hunt supported the implementation of co-response programs that pair behavioral health experts with law enforcement. She advocates for expanding state support for behavioral health services and crisis response programs across Washington. She has voiced opposition to placing school resource officers (SROs) in schools.[3][4]
Education
Hunt, a mother of two children in the public school system, supports increased funding for special education and universal free school lunches. She opposes voucher programs and charter school funding, advocating for maintaining focus on funding the traditional public school system.[3][5]
Revenue policy
Hunt has expressed support for various progressive revenue proposals, including modifications to the capital gains tax, an excess compensation tax, and adjustments to make the estate tax more progressive.[5]
Healthcare
Hunt supports the Keep Our Care Act, which aims to maintain healthcare services during hospital mergers. She has emphasized the importance of protecting reproductive rights and ensuring access to healthcare services across the state.[3]
Personal life
Hunt is married with two children who attend public school in Issaquah.[3]
References
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